Ideas and adventure

Winter reads

Forget the out-of-season produce or tropical holiday snaps, there’s nothing as displacing as the flurry of summer reading lists that emerge in the blogosphere when we’re in the midst of a Southern Hemisphere winter. In summer, I want adventures and escapism, but in winter I want something longer, denser and (probably) more melancholic. I want to return to familiar favourite stories and characters or to get lost in a vividly imagined new world.

Here are my (old and new) picks …

I read Murakami’s Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of Pilgrimage a few months ago. I adored it, but was reluctant to review it here because he has such a loyal following and I wasn’t sure I had much to add to the conversation. The story is slow but deeply engrossing. Perfect winter reading … Plus, what’s winter if not a colourless pilgrimage?

David Mitchell is an acquired taste! I have to say, although I loved the Cloud Atlas, I found the movie adaptation much more accessible … (Thanks, Tom Hanks.) His latest work, The Bone Clocks, is a long and fascinating read that will take you through theology, humanity, pure evil and deep love. Tough but beautiful.